Norway's Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo cemented his status as a cross-country skiing legend by capturing a record sixth gold medal at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics on Saturday, reported Xinhua.
Klaebo delivered a masterclass in the men's 50km mass start, leading a Norwegian podium sweep and securing his sixth gold medal at these Games. The triumph set a new record for the most golds won by a single athlete at a single Winter Olympics, surpassing the 46-year-old mark of five set by American speed skater Eric Heiden in 1980.
"To be able to finish it up with six out of six, there couldn't be a better way to do that," Klaebo said. "Italy has treated me well this Olympics."
Klaebo now has 11 career golds across three Winter Games. Among all Olympians, he now ranks second in total gold medals, trailing only American swimming legend Michael Phelps, who holds the all-time record with 23 Olympic golds.
"It's really cool," Klaebo added. "Some of the clips went viral and people are starting to see a bit more of cross-country skiing. The Olympics is way bigger than the world championships."
A costly error in the final round of the freestyle skiing aerials mixed team event dashed China's hopes of upgrading the silver they won at the Beijing 2022 Games. Defending champion the United States seized the opportunity to secure the gold with a series of steady jumps, while Switzerland surged to silver.
Competing in a four-team final at Livigno, China fielded a formidable lineup including women's aerials champion Xu Mengtao, her husband and men's gold medalist Wang Xindi, and men's bronze medalist Li Tianma.
After a solid first jump from Xu (96.59 points) put them in contention, China's momentum faltered when Wang fell on his landing in the second rotation, scoring 87.72. In the decisive round, Li crashed on his landing, receiving 95.37 points. China finished with a combined total of 279.68, settling for third place behind the United States (325.35) and Switzerland (296.91).
"I can take this imperfect result, and over the next four years, I will work bit by bit to fill this regret," said Wang. "Both Li and I opted for a 5.1 difficulty on our final jumps. Our goal was very clear. We wanted to fight for the gold medal and give it our all within our capabilities. Since we chose to take that risk, we were all willing to share it together as a team."
China's overall medal tally at the Games now stands at four golds, three silvers and six bronzes, with the aerials team contributing five medals – two golds and three bronzes.
Xu noted the historic significance, calling it "the best overall performance at a Winter Games" since aerials joined the Olympic program in 1994.
France's Oceane Michelon stormed to gold in the women's 12.5km biathlon mass start in 37 minutes 18.1 seconds, overcoming two penalty loops to win her first major international title.
On the speed skating rink, Dutch veteran Jorrit Bergsma, 40, surprised the field to win the men's mass start, adding to his 10,000m gold from Sochi 2014. His compatriot Marijke Groenewoud secured the women's mass start title, breaking clear on the final lap.
In ski mountaineering's Olympic debut, France's Emily Harrop and Thibault Anselmet captured the mixed relay gold, adding to Harrop's silver in the women's s.
Also on Saturday, Germany's Laura Nolte and Deborah Levi emerged victorious in a showdown featuring three pairs of Olympic champions to retain their title in the two-woman bobsled. Host skier Simone Deromedis captured the men's ski cross title.
The Canadian men's curling team, who were plagued with allegations of cheating for double-touching the stone during their game against Sweden, won gold after beating Britain 9-6.
The women's freeski halfpipe final, featuring defending champion Gu Ailing and three other Chinese athletes, was postponed until Sunday due to persistent snowfall and strong winds at Livigno Snow Park. It will start at 10:40 local time.
- Milan-Cortina 2026
- Day 15
Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
